Right of Way
"I'm getting tired of always getting stopped by passenger trains! It's really making me late! This is one reason I would rather work for CSX! They won't take this crap!" "Yeah, I know what you mean. I get stopped by passenger trains almost every day and it really drives me bananas!" "That's messed up! Lilim and Lily must think they're so cool, but really they're both stupid! Our job is just as important as theirs!" "Well come to think of it, I think there's some kind of reason for it." -Jordan and Nicholas 'Right of Way '''is the first episode of Season 1 of ''Rails of Highland Valley. The first part aired on November 22, 2015. Plot ' Part 1: '''Rail traffic has been dramatically picking up on the Norfolk Southern, so this means more work for all the engines. They generally don't mind work, as it's what they were built for, but there is one thing they do mind. Freight traffic may have increased, but passenger trains still have the right of way. This means that whenever needed, freight trains must stop so that passenger trains can overtake them. The passengers and the passenger engines are glad they have priority, but it makes life more difficult for the freight engines who want to get their jobs over with. One morning, Jordan is impatiently waiting to depart Highland Valley with his freight train. He's all ready to go, but the only thing he has to wait for is for Lily to pass him. Lily is already late due to other trains being slow getting into sidings, so this only takes off more time for Jordan. When Lily arrives, Jordan rudely criticizes her for being late, and Lily says that "she won't do this again". After Jordan gets a green signal, he is off again. When Jordan pulls into Tidewater, Nicholas is already there waiting for Jordan. Jordan tells him how angry he is about Lilim and Lily getting right of way, and Nicholas agrees with him. Soon, Nicholas sets off, hoping for an easy run back to Highland Valley. All goes well until he isn't far away. He gets diverted onto the siding track to allow Lilim to pass him with her early morning excursion. Lilim teases Nicholas, which annoys him as he makes his way home. '''Part 2: '''Nicholas soon arrives at Highland Valley Yard, but makes time to tell Lilim how upset he is about the situation. Lilim only laughs it off, and Nicholas, still fuming, sorts out his train. He arrives back at the sheds and meets Will and Josiah, who also agree that getting stopped by passenger trains is annoying. After Lilim arrives in the shed, Mr. Edwards arrives to give the engines their jobs. After Lilim, Will, and Josiah leave, Mr. Edwards gives Nicholas his job: to pull a high priority reefer train on the CSX mainline to Cumberland, MD. Nicholas initially is worried, but he soon realizes that he'll be doing this at night, so all should hopefully go as planned. Later, Shawn and Kerry are pulling a freight train of their own. They both are excited to deliver their train so that they can play Call of Duty on their Xbox, but soon get sidetracked when they arrive at Highland Valley. Nicholas sees this, and the three engines agree that hopefully it doesn't have to do with Amtrak. Unfortunately for Shawn and Kerry, it did. The eastbound Amtrak Capitol Limited pulls into the station, and it wasn't until it left that Shawn and Kerry got the all clear to continue. Shortly after they are out of sight, Nicholas' train arrives. After coupling up to his train, he nervously sets off. '''Part 3: '''Nicholas is now traversing the CSX Keystone Sub on his way to Cumberland. He still feels uncomfortable, and even flickers his headlights when he passes other trains. Up ahead, two CSX locomotives known as Dave and Larry, are pulling a grain train when they have to stop to let Nicholas clear their track. Nicholas nervously passes them hoping they wouldn't notice, but they did. Dave and Larry are angry and agree to give Nicholas a lesson for this. After Nicholas delivers his train, he sees Lily arrive at Cumberland unexpectedly. Nicholas tells Lily that now he got a high priority train of his own, and Lily is impressed. The next morning, Nicholas is shunting cars and minding his business as usual. Just then, Dave and Larry pull up next to him and start bothering him about what had happened the previous night. Nicholas tells them that he was following his orders, but they do not care. The rest of the engines arrive to shoo Dave and Larry off, but they do not move. Finally, Josiah threatens to report them if they do not leave, so they do. Later on, Nicholas and Will are assigned to pull a westbound freight train. The other engines say their good-byes before they get to work as well, and Lily assures them that she and Lilim are not getting assigned until after they leave. Nicholas and Will are pleased with this and have a good run. Dave and Larry are on their way home as well, but they do not have a good run, as other trains have priority! Characters * Nicholas * Jordan * Lily * Lilim * Shawn * Will * Josiah * Kerry * Mr. Edwards * Dave * Larry * Omer ''(cameo) * Turbo (cameo) * Mordecai (cameo) * Spencer (cameo) * Peach (not named, does not speak) * Peter (cameo) * Mr. Dunn (indirectly mentioned) Locations * Tidewater * Highland Valley * Industrial Wasteland * NS Lake Division District * CSX Keystone Subdivision Trivia * This episode has a little in common with Episode 2 of The Full Bucketniers, though it wasn't the exact inspiration for this episode. * One of Jordan's gondolas is empty between Highland Valley and Tidewater. Most likely he unloaded it on the way there. * First appearance of the main cast, Omer, Turbo, Mordecai, Spencer, Peter, Dave, and Larry. * Shawn and Kerry had plenty of time to cross the junction before the Amtrak arrived, but it was probably the dispatcher messing things up. * This episode was made into a YTP by Pacific Productions. Goofs * Some face scenes have white borders on the side. * Some voice clips are too low. * Nicholas is pulling the reefers westbound, when he was supposed to be pulling them east. Maybe he was going to turn around somewhere. * Nicholas' friends are randomly appearing from outside the yard, instead of from the shed. * The Traintown music is named as "Higher" in the credits, when it is actually called Let's Dance. Episode Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Category:Episodes with more than two parts Category:Nicholas-themed episodes Category:Work that inspired other users' work